


The Fatherhood Chronicles - Occupational Hazards

by Aragarna



Series: The Fatherhood Chronicles [11]
Category: White Collar
Genre: Family, Fluff, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-03
Updated: 2015-06-03
Packaged: 2018-04-02 18:16:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4069792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aragarna/pseuds/Aragarna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being a father can have unexpected consequences on your work meetings...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Fatherhood Chronicles - Occupational Hazards

**Author's Note:**

> You can blame [](http://kanarek13.livejournal.com/profile)[kanarek13](http://kanarek13.livejournal.com/), [](http://winterstar95.livejournal.com/profile)[winterstar95](http://winterstar95.livejournal.com/) and [Chris Evans](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP7H2fMdfqk) for that one. ;)

Peter had the feeling that since he had become a father, his colleagues were seeing him differently. Not that they wouldn’t respect his authority as the boss of the White Collar division of New York, but somehow, it seemed that the _Dad_ title had vaguely undermined the initial fear he used to infuse to probies and new transfers.

Maybe he just had softened. Diana kept telling him he looked different – and there was no denying that he _was_ feeling different. Somehow, despite the chronic lacks of sleep, he was feeling invigorated, and full of a new positive energy.

Peter couldn’t deny either that the occasional milk stain on his tie, the birth announcement still hanging next to the coffee machine after more than a year, or the stuff dinosaur seating on his desk since last time he brought Neal to the office, were of no help in asserting the image of a fierce boss.

Not that it was of any bother for Peter. “You’re the boss, now” Reese had told him. “You set the tone.” And if his team was now seeing him differently, he was still seeing them as he always had: a family – which seemed to be working just fine for everyone. Peter liked this feel of mutual trust. They all had each other’s back, no matter the circumstances – on the field and in the bureau.

Oh sure, there were some smirks here and there. During the administrative meetings, Ruiz would never miss the occasion to give Peter long looks as he tried discreetly to clean off a stain on his sleeve that he had missed, and his insistence that all meetings would have to be over by 6 pm wasn’t to everyone’s liking. But Peter didn’t care. He had two families to take care of – at home and at work – and he thought he was doing a pretty good job at handling things. The division’s closure rate was on the rise – which was the obvious sign of a successful leadership –, and Neal’s first word had been _da_ – which was the obvious declaration that he had the best dad in the world.

When Peter walked up to the conference room that morning, everyone was already there, and they all turned to look at him when he walked in, out of breath. The boss being late to the meeting he had called himself, that was probably not the best tone to set. But everyone just gave him an understanding look before turning back to Jones, who was leading the briefing. Peter sat at the far end of the table and listened as his agent made a summary of the current case.

“We’re back on the Anderson case,” Jones said, pointing to a mug shot of a suspect that appeared on the screen. “Blake made a promising connection in the phone call logs of our suspect, which might be the breakthrough we had been waiting for. It looks like Anderson was calling once a month a source named Madison Wilson. Anderson has requested a face to face. We have every reason to believe Anderson has never met her, so we’re sending Agent Berrigan, from D.C., undercover.”

Diana was in town to help them on the case. She had been the one working on it initially, before she had moved to D.C. Peter picked up a case file on the table and quickly reviewed the case. The meeting was set in a restaurant on Fifth Avenue. The kind of place hard to control: too many exits, too many people around.

“Peter, a thought?” Jones asked, catching his boss’s frown.

“We don’t want to lose our suspect. If he slips through, he’ll disappear. I’m not sure we can cover all the exit routes as it is.”

“We’re a little short-staffed at the moment,” Jones agreed, “but this is our chance.”

Peter nodded. “We can’t miss the opportunity. And changing the location might tip him off, but I don’t _wike_ it.”

Peter tried to swallow the words back, but it was too late. “I don’t _like_ it,” he corrected quickly, as everyone was exchanging amused looks.

Jones was definitely biting his lips not to laugh.

“Picking from Little Neal?” aDiana asked, with a large grin.

Peter narrowed his eyes and conjured his most menacing look. “This doesn’t get out of here. If I hear anyone repeating it, they’ll be of van duty for two months.”

Everyone turned instantly serious.

“Okay, I’ll try and see if I can borrow a couple agents to Organized Crimes. Great job everyone. Let’s close this case.”

And with dignity, Peter stood and walked back to his office, ignoring the chuckles that rose the minute he left the conference room.

He rolled his eyes. He had the feeling he would never hear the end of that one…

Damn Neal...

 

 

 

 


End file.
